Theology Moment: Theology of Technology

I recently wrote a blog post titled, "Post-Modernism is Dead...Wait...What?" In it I raised four points. The first point was that we should learn to use technology in our faith communities. But before we can learn to use technology, we should understand WHY we are using it and what GOD would have to say about that! We need a Theology of Technology--or "Where is God in our Technological Communications?"

God used many ways to communicate with people from the burning bush to the words of Jesus to the continuous communication of God's grace that is alive and operational today. What can be said is that God's communication uses every available method. If God uses every method, why shouldn't we do the same? But, when we communicate, we should remember that we are not God. There are some other general things to remember:

Jesus crossed borders to speak to marginalized people. We should approach communications in a multi-cultural, inclusive way.

Jesus didn't win every argument. Controversial, I know. But read the story of the Canaanite woman. Doesn't she best Jesus' argument? Be open to change.

All of creation communicates the expansive love and grace of our Creator. We are part of creation.

Beyond everything, the person you are communicating with is a Beloved Child of God. Treat them that way!

Communication is a co-creation with the originator (creator) and the sender (people). Just like we have a Creator that communicates with people. The co-creation of sender and recipient creates something that is between what the creator intended and what the people want to hear.

How should faith communities be communicating today? Every possible way: Facebook, Twitter, web page, blog, printed written words (letter/newsletters), and spoken words (worship/liturgy/sermon/music/meetings). There are other ways to communicate, but they are for another day as they involve the body and movement or touch. 🙂

I am thinking that with each communication vehicle, a chart could be made that asks the important questions. Something like the chart below. I think the most interesting question may be the last question: What type of communication is this technology best suited for? The answer could be one way (creator to people), dialogue (creator to people and back again), or recipient (people to creator). I don't know. I am certainly not the expert on communication nor the expert on theology. But the question we should ask with every piece of communication we send out as a reflection of our faith community is, "where is God in this?"